Each year we are handling more games with fewer referees. We will see more games this year without ARs (Assistant Referees) and more
games with no referees, especially in home Select and Premier matches. Many weekends the assignors send e-mail pleas for games to get full coverage for the
kids.

Soccer is a quickly growing sport in our area. Each fall weekend approximately 230 recreational soccer games are played on EYSA
fields. EYSA provides the referees for all these small-sided (U08-U11), and U12 recreational games. Approximately 250 referee positions need to be filled to cover these games.

EKCSRA (East King County Soccer Referees Association) provides the referees for the other Recreational games (U13-U19) and all the
Select and Premier games. EYSA teams using EKCSRA referees need to provide referees to EKCSRA through the Ref-In-Pool Program in order for them to give their games priority for referees. If the team doesn't provide a
Ref-in-Pool, the team runs the risk of not getting referees to their home games.

If you are an adult who has played soccer as a youth or adult, and enjoy the game please consider becoming a referee. With your
experience, you will find refereeing easy to pick up. You can be an AR for every game you ref. There is no requirement that you be a center referee.

How to Become a Referee

It's easy.There are two requirements:

You must be at least 13 years old when refereeing your first game for EYSA, unless
your first game is late August or in September, then EYSA requires you be 13 by Oct 1 (www.EYSAreferees.org).

You must be
certified.If you're new to refereeing, and wish to get started, you simply need to register with
www.wareferees.org and sign up for a New Referee clinic to get your entry-level certification.
The certification consists of about 3 hours of online study, 8 hours of class time and passing a 50-question test.

The simple answer is NOW. You can
get certified as a referee anytime by going to the www.WAreferees.org website and signing up for a New
Referee clinic. Between www.EYSAreferees.org and www.WAreferees.org, there
are clinics all year round. However, EYSA recommends that you get certified after July 1 and before the fall season.
There are a few reasons:

Cost - If you get certified between Jan 1 and June 30, your certification is good until Dec 31 of the
current year. If you get certified after July 1, your certification is good until Dec 31 of next year. It costs $50 to re-certify.

Opportunity - EYSA hosts 4 or 5 clinics locally in July and August. These clinics
are more attuned to what EYSA is doing. Clinics in other areas of the state are more attuned to what those areas are doing. In general, this means you're better informed about EYSA from
EYSA-sponsored clinics.

Game Availability - 80+% of soccer games are played in the fall. Getting certified
too early in the year doesn't provide many games for new referees. Fall is when we need referees and expect the new referees.

EYSA generally has a handful of clinics scheduled each summer. They are middle-of-the-week since there are so many
tournaments on the weekends, and also on a Monday/Wednesday or Tuesday/Thursday so kids don't have to miss a practice. Click here for schedule.

Parents, becoming a referee is a great way to support your child(ren)'s team and club, and add a knowledgeable adult
to the sideline, who can help explain rulings and reduce anxiety during your child(ren)'s game.

Kids, this is a great way to learn more about the game, and especially how to be in charge -- all while making money
and getting exercise.Being a ref actually pays more than most entry-level minimum wage jobs. You can't beat it
for flexibility, either, since you select the games you want to referee.

For parents and kids, games are self-assigned based on your ability and availability. Flexibility in scheduling means
you control how much time you're willing to commit.